Bill Whitten Custom Made 1970s Rare Unique Native America Style Stage Suit 38/40

Description: Brand: Bill Whitten Size: 40L . Please follow my measurements Measurements (Laying flat, Unstretched): Shirt/Jacket: Underarm to Underarm on back: 20 inches Length on back(from under the collar): 31 inches Shoulder to shoulder: 17 inches Sleeves from shoulder seam to end of cuff: 27 inches Pants: Pants Waist: 34 Inches Extra material on waist: 4 Inches Pants Rise: 12 Inches (Measurement between the waistline and the crotch) Pants inseam: 35 Inches Extra material on inseam: 2.25 Inches Opening at hem: 13 inches Material: Not Tagged - Medium to Light Weight Color: Black/Gold/Red Design: Shiny Paisley Shirt/Jacket: Pull Over - Zippers on the sides Tons of different fabrics Slacks: Flat Front Uncuffed Hems No Front Pockets Not Lined No Back Pockets Bell Bottoms Fur down each leg Leather tied down each leg I was able to purchase a few of his pieces. I wasn't told specifically who they were made for, but you can guarantee they were made for a celebrity in the 1970's. One suit did have a tag that simply says "Lee Loughnane" which is one of the lead singers of the band "Chicago". And a lot of them are very similar size of that one. You’ve probably never heard of Bill Whitten. He was the costume designer who gave Michael Jackson his white glove. “It was very simple,” Whitten once said. “The audience was missing his hand and feet movements. They couldn’t see the quick gestures he was making.” But his influence doesn’t stop there. He put Elton John in extravagant capes and Stevie Wonder in African print caftans and took Neil Diamond out of flower embroidered shirts and into bugle beads. “When I came into the business the only man in a beaded jacket was Liberace. Nobody had tasty beading for men. Nobody.” Neil Diamond was the first performer to find Whitten, back in 1974 at his custom shirt firm Workroom 27 which had been open a matter of months with little success. But when word spread among the most elaborate elite, Whitten and his brand became a sensation. He soon had 50 staff making stage clothes for 20 groups including the Commodores, the Jacksons, Edgar Winter and Steppenwolf. Diamond and Jackson were long-term customers. “They (lead singers) didn’t have one place they could go that could outfit them and the band. I was the one source for all that,” he once said. It is difficult to say whether Whitten was reclusive or just unsung. He died in 2006 but otherwise there is remarkably little information about him besides his high-profile clients – something that seems symptomatic of the costume profession. Condition: This is custom made so may or may not have been worn. Inventory Code #S9710

Price: 796 USD

Location: Canton, Georgia

End Time: 2024-11-25T14:25:52.000Z

Shipping Cost: 13 USD